Restaurant Review: Belachan Kitchen

 

By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

 

We ordered the Chicken Satay which was quite good. There was a caramelized smokiness as well as sweetness from the marinade. The chicken itself was tender. The Roti Canai was average. The exterior was good though being well seared and crispy. On the side, the curry dip was sweet and just a touch spicy.

Thai Prawn Cakes were texturally on point with a light crispiness. The buttery shrimp filling was moist and airy. There was enough seasoning. I also liked how cilantro was only in the background.

We had the Thai Red Curry Chicken served with a side of rice. It had tender slices of chicken breast, peppers and onions. It was mildly spicy. I would've liked to see more brininess (more shrimp paste). The Red Wine Pork Ribs were a pleasant surprise as had deep and rich flavours. The ribs were fairly tender with a meaty chew.

The best dish was the Stir-fried Seafood with vegetables in sambal sauce. The combination of dried shrimp, palm sugar and sambal made things spicy and seafoody in flavour. It had a caramelized sweetness from the wok heat and a briny saltiness. With perfectly cooked green beans and eggplant and shrimp and squid, the dish was on point.

We had Deep Fried Bananas with ice cream. It is generally greasy but at the least the batter remained crispy while the banana wasn't overly ripe. I wasn't too excited about the desserts, but the rest of the dishes were actually quite acceptable.

 

Belachan Kitchen

1128 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC

 

The Good:

• Fairly large portion size

• Okay service

• Decent eats for what it is

 

The Bad:

• Flavours could be more bold, but then again, they are appealing to wider market

 

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.

 

Leave a comment
FACEBOOK TWITTER